The present invention relates to the combustion of fluid fuels, and particularly to the treatment of a combustible fluid mixture prior to its entry into a combustion zone with the effect of enhancing the combustibility of the mixture.
In the typical system for feeding fuel to an internal combustion engine, a liquid hydrocarbon fuel is finely atomized in a stream of air, resulting in a combustible mixture consisting of a dispersion of fine fuel droplets. Even when the dispersion is preheated prior to its entry into the combustion zone, the fuel is not completely vaporized and it remains primarily in the form of droplets. Since only those molecules at the surface of the fuel droplets are in contact with air, incomplete combustion occurs in the short time in which the mist is in the combustion zone. The result is a failure to use the full capacity of the fuel and a discharge of unoxidized or partially oxidized species into the atmosphere as undesirable pollutants. Thus, for both environmental and economic concerns, any increase in fuel efficiency in internal combustion engines or combustion zones in general is a goal worth striving for.